The Financial Express : May 28, 2020, 08:15 PM
New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party leader and spokesperson Sambit Patra has been admitted to a private hospital in Gurugram after he showed symptoms of coronavirus. According to a PTI report, Patra was rushed to the Medanta Medicity here this morning after he developed symptoms of COVID-19.Sambit Patra is a surgeon by profession and is the national spokesperson for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. He frequently appears on television debates and vociferously defends his party and the government.He is also very active on social media platforms. He posted several tweets, including tributes to Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkar on his birth anniversary, on Thursday as well.He had contested Lok Sabha elections in May 2019 from Puri in Odisha but lost to Pinaki Misra of Biju Janata Dal.Earlier, two Maharashtra ministers Jitendra Awhad of NCP and Ashok Chavan of Congress had tested positive positive for the virus. While Jitendra has recovered, Ashok Chavan is admitted to a hospital in his home constituency of Nanded.As soon as the news about Patra broke, several messages of well-wishes flooded social media.“Get well soon Sambit Patra bhai,” Delhi BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga tweeted.BJP’s information technology wing head Amit Malviya said Patra is in good spirits and is fighting back. “I spoke to my friend @sambitswaraj. He is in good spirits and fighting back,” Malviya tweeted.Sanjay Jha of the Congress tweeted, “Wishing my good friend Sambit Patra a quick, great recovery and lots of happiness and good health always. Take care, bro, you will soon be as fit as a fiddle.”According to the Health Ministry data, the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 4,531 and the number of cases climbed to 1,58,333 in the country, registering an increase of 194 deaths and 6,566 cases in the last 24 hours till 8 am. The number of active COVID-19 cases stand at 86,110 while 67,691 people have recovered and one patient has migrated.